WARREN WCI Steel union mulls big contract changes

Generalized job descriptions will likely be among the changes discussed.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Union workers at WCI Steel could be next in line to consider sweeping contract changes that are already in the ratification stage for at least three other U.S. steelmakers.
John Duray, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers of American in Pittsburgh, said ratification balloting by mail is going on for workers at U.S. Steel, National Steel and Bethlehem Steel. National was recently bought by U.S. Steel, and Bethlehem is newly acquired by International Steel Group in Cleveland.
Details of the pending agreements won't be released until they're approved, he said, but all three were modeled after a six-year contract ISG workers ratified when that company bought steel giant LTV of Cleveland out of bankruptcy last year.
Restructuring plan
WCI, the Mahoning Valley's third-largest industrial employer with about 1,800 workers, announced a restructuring plan this week which includes talks with USW to discuss possible changes in its bargaining agreement, set to expire in October 2004. The plan, aimed at reversing the mill's losses to make it profitable again, also requires new commitments from WCI's lending banks and its owner, Renco Group, Inc.
Local union officials have said the contract revision proposals will likely reflect the ISG contract.
"Across the country, unions and steelmakers are reshaping the way work is done in integrated steel mills," Duray said. "They're not identical, but the basic philosophies are very similar. The idea is to make sure the steel mills survive."
The ISG agreement reduced the number of job titles from hundreds to just six, and Steelworkers themselves helped to devise the more generalized job descriptions. Workers are cross-trained in several areas and are expected to perform a variety of jobs.
Duray said steel mills adopted the use of numerous, specific job descriptions decades ago as a way to keep management in control of its work force.
"Steelworkers were always told, you're not paid to think, you're here to work," he said. "Now, for the first time in history, they're not only being asked to get the job done, but they're also being trusted to get the job done."
Fewer supervisors
The ISG contract also reduced the number of supervisors in the mill, and it states that the pay of executives and its board of directors "must be below average when compared to similarly situated executives" in other comparable industrial settings.
Wages for union members were not cut when ISG took over LTV, and Mike Rubicz, president of USW Local 1375 at WCI said he doesn't expect the company to ask for pay concessions, despite its financial woes.
"Cutting wages, cutting benefits, is what managers do when they can't manage, not when they know how to manage," Duray argued. "They may get a quick surge because people are scared for their jobs, but sooner or later you destroy morale."
WCI, the only remaining steel mill in the Youngstown-Warren area still making steel from raw materials, reported a loss of $17.5 million for the first half of fiscal 2003 and lost more than $138 million in 2001 and 2002. Officials blamed high energy and raw material costs, a sluggish economy and increasing competition for the most recent losses.
vinarsky@vindy.com